4 Reviews of Property 347480 in Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Our family (2 adults and 4 kids ages 16, 15, 11, 10) visited Costa Rica from July 8 - July 19, 2012. We stayed at Casa Celestial for one week. It was a referral from a colleague, who stayed there earlier in the year. For as great as we heard it was, our expectations were far exceeded and it was better than imagined. The house is beautiful -- in a gated community, secluded from other residences on the top of a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We had everything we could have asked for: air conditioning, top quality appliances, comfortable bedding, etc. It truly felt like we were in a 5 star resort. Tarcoles is also a good location: about 1 hour or so from Manuel Antonio; minutes from beaches, the crocodile tour, horseback riding on the beach; and 20 minutes from Jaco. The manager, Ronny, is also a great guy who was very helpful with tours and answering questions. Greg and Ronit

We spent Holy Week 2012 in the house, and had a magical time! The pictures on the web site are amazing, but do not capture the true beauty and magic of this property. My husband and I brought my mother (age 70) and our son (age 13), as well as our married daughters with their husbands. It was great to have all the family together under one roof - and what a roof it was! The house is clean and uncluttered. The kitchen had everything we needed. All rooms have individual air conditioners. The house has Wi-Fi and satellite TV (not that we watched much!) The pool was perfect, and the property also boasts a Tiki hut up the small hill, with a hammock, fan and lights, and a teak table and chairs which seated 8 comfortably. Chris, the owner, is a gentleman and we actually looked forward to hearing from him. He met us at the airport in San Jose to escort us back to the house (something I recommend), but we had our own cars for the entire week, and got around easily. Chris introduced us to Ronny, a local, who not only took us on one of the most amazing crocodile boating trips (He IS the crocodile man!), but was able to get us private tours of the canopy (zip lining) and would have taken us on any other tours we wanted. He was wonderful, and I would definately ask Chris about obtaining Ronny's services while you are in Costa Rica! On our first day, Chris took us for a tour of Tarcoles (the small town at the base of our mountain), as well as Jaco (about 20 kms south and VERY tourist-oriented). On the property, we saw hummingbirds, monkeys, scarlet macaws, and 4 whales in the Tarcoles harbor! We took a day trip to Manuel Antonio National Park, and saw the white-faced monkeys, 2-toed and 3-toed sloths, toucans, iguanas, hummingbirds, termites (my son ate them and they are minty), and a local land crab (very colorful). On the zip-lining, my son went upside-down (I was amazed and scared at the same time) and we ate more fruit and seafood - to die for! The locals (called Ticos) are very nice and helpful. Tico families rely heavily on tourism dollars, so we always tipped heavily when the service were good (almost every time!). My husband and I have rented homes from VRBO for years - this is the BEST house we have ever found, and I would recommend it to anyone! If you are lucky enough to find an open week, grab it! We'll be back! Thank you, Chris, for an amazing vacation - we LOVE your house and your hospitality!!